Each week, ASTA brings its members a round-up of what’s happening in education. From big, eye-catching headlines to the stories most papers overlook, we find the news our members really want to see. This week, the school safety commission avoids talking about guns, a teacher resigns, unions prepare for the Janus ruling, and more!

School Safety Panel Avoids Guns, Receives Criticism: The newly formed Federal Commission on School Safety met on Wednesday at the Education Department headquarters with parents, students, and other education advocates. Even before it began, the meeting was a target for protests by those who thought the commission was not doing enough to protect students from gun violence. The day before, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had announced to Congress that the commission was not going to look at gun laws. Democratic lawmakers have since urged the commission “to study and develop 'meaningful and actionable recommendations to keep students safe at school,'” even though they know that the commission is unable to change gun laws. DeVos was not in attendance at this week’s meeting.

Teacher Forced to Resign after Clashing with School’s Transgender Name Policy: An orchestra teacher from Indiana says he was forced to resign after clashing with his school’s policies concerning transgender students. The school’s policy is to refer to transgender students by their preferred name. To be eligible, the student must have written consent from both their parent and a physician. The teacher says he believes transgender lifestyles are harmful and he was being forced to encourage his students in that lifestyle, which violated his first amendment rights. LGBTQ advocates claim that using a name is not a first amendment issue. They say that calling any student by the name they prefer is a matter of respect and does not violate religious beliefs.

Unions Prepare for Janus Ruling: Each week that passes brings the Supreme Court’s ruling in the landmark Janus v. AFSCME case closer. The case will have a huge impact on unions across the country and they are scrambling to prepare. Large unions, such as the AFL-CIO are trying to stave off potential membership losses with a pro-union ad campaign. While teacher unions in California are focusing on passing bills that will help unions maintain political power and will block non-union activists from providing information to public employees.